Five For Friday

5 noteworthy things from the past few weeks...

The past few times I have gone to the grocery store alone I seem to end up next to someone who is "a little off" which makes for an entertaining check-out experience. The first time it was a man who explained to me some of his purchases and then spent the rest of the time digging through my groceries and saying things like "Mmm chocolate chips, these are MINE!" Pretending to take them, laughing and then putting them back in the cart.

The last time this happened it was a cute little old man and he would grab tabloid magazines and show me pictures inside and then giggle in such a way that his shoulders would move up and down. The first picture he showed me was one of those "Worst dressed" pages and he pointed to some celebrity at an award show and said, "look at that dress... giggle giggle, and that one.... giggle giggle." As grocery store shopping can be an exhausting task I enjoy getting to chuckle a bit before I leave.

The absolute last thing I like to do is draw attention to myself while I am trying to feed my child in public. However as of late Fiona has decided that she does not like ANY sort of noise to disrupt her when she is dining, and thus will scream until she starts choking and gagging under my nursing shield leaving all eyes on me. I tried to have lunch with my Grandma at a restaurant the last week and Fiona had a meltdown. I was so flustered we ended up just leaving as soon as I got myself all tucked away again. I really do think nursing is amazing if it works out for you... but I still feel frightfully awkward about it unless I am in the comforts of my own home. I find myself in new situations wondering what the breastfeeding etiquette is...

I was only exposed to breastfeeding when I was a little kid myself and so I didn't really think of it in the terms of my being a women and someday be doing it. I find myself wanting to study other women who seem to feed their kids effortlessly and without drawing attention to themselves. Sometimes I feel like I might as well just blow a foghorn and yell. "HEY I'm ABOUT TO BREASTFEED MY KID!!!!"

I realized this week that I am quite competitive. Which is interesting because I have always considered myself NOT to be. I suppose it's just another example that just because we think something, doesn't make it true.

I have a big family reunion coming up with Chuck's family and I have to fix a meal for like 20 people. I kept stressing out about what I was going to fix and wanting to know what everyone else was making... Chuck jokingly said, "you know if you don't make something good my brothers will not like you anymore and you will get kicked out of the family." I laughed because it seemed so absurd, but it was actually a thought that had crossed my mind (which sometime I would love to write about all of the completely absurd scenarios I run through my head all day). Upon further reflection I realized that I was approaching this meal like I was asked to be on some cooking competition on national television. WIth this realization it almost seemed like someone lifted a fog from in front of my eyes and I could think of COUNTLESS other examples where I approach life like a contest. Anyway... I am working on changing my thinking.

I was able to run a race this last week in Downtown Minneapolis. It was a 5k called the Torchlight (because it is run at night). It felt good to get out and run with a big crowd again. That's one of the reasons I love doing races, I like that big group feeling... and listening to the sound of thousands of feet hitting the pavement. And I also had the chance to behold people wearing these:

There is a pretty big movement of people who run barefoot, or with these shoes which are really more like gloves with thick soles. There is a guy in our neighborhood with really long blond hair who Chuck and I see all the time running barefoot with his shirt off. Every time I see him I feel like I am spotting big foot in his natural habitat or something. It just seems so wild and primitive... only this guy wears Nike Shorts and is in the center median of Summit Ave in Saint Paul.

I was able to do a nutritional assessment of myself for three days (not a whole week like I had wanted). I am still analyzing the numbers because the program I have has like 7 different reports you can run about what you ate. BUT Being the lactating lady that I am I need over 2,700 calories a day just to break even. I tried to be really true to my diet and enjoy things like snacks and pizza. I realized that I am under my calorie need almost everyday (which is why I am steadily shedding the baby weight). Which made me feel like I would try another assessment after I stop breastfeeding.

I did find that I eat a lot more salt than I should... Pretty much if you eat anything processed or use pre-made sauces from the grocery store your sodium levels will be off the charts. I made "just add water" pancakes one morning and had no idea they were packed with sodium. That day I was like at 294% of what my sodium intake should have been.

I realized that I enjoy doing nutritional assessments and wouldn't mind keeping better track on a regular basis.